Brookdale Hospital may flatline

Brookdale Hospital & Medical Center may flatline, following a report from the state that may recommend terminating the cash-strapped hospital’s funding.

The Brooklyn hospital was slammed with a slew of deficiencies during a State Department of Health (DOH) inspection.

Among the laundry list of violations, one 63-year-old man with a medical history of anemia and schizophrenia — who was admitted after falling and sustaining lacerations to his right brow — choked on a sandwich and died, while waiting for a bed in the emergency department. The case was not reported to state agencies as required, according to the report.

In another instance, one 13-year-old female who was reportedly raped at gun point three months prior to her hospital visit was discharged without having “a complete and comprehensive assessment.” According to the report, the hospital failed to note the patient’s psychological and emotional status or access the trauma of assault and impact on the patient. The patient was also not referred to a social worker.

According to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) spokesperson Jeffrey Hall, the hospital has failed multiple inspections. Following the most recent March inspection, the state DOH recently revisited the hospital and is currently in the process of writing a report for CMS’s review, he said.

The report will determine the future of Brookdale and whether or not the state will pull the hospital from Medicare and Medicaid programs — which Brookdale heavily relies on financially.

In September, the state asked Brookdale to submit a plan of correction to address the issues detailed in the inspection report, Hall said. The hospital was given 90 days to implement the plan.

According to Michael Hinck, a spokesperson for Brookdale’s parent company MediSys — which formerly owned Peninsula Hospital — the state has accepted their plan of correction without any further findings.

“Every hospital from time to time is subject to N.Y.S. inspections which may result in findings and require submission of a plan of correction,” he said. “Brookdale continues to work cooperatively with DOH and other agencies for the best outcomes for our patients.”

A number of other problems detailed in the report found the hospital in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.

According to findings, the seclusion room in the psychiatry unit reeked of “stale urine” and the floor was soiled with urine stains and small debris. The facility also failed to provide instructions to non English-speaking patients entering the emergency department, and two infants in the isolation area of the pediatric unit were left unsupervised by staff for an undisclosed amount of time.